As a part of the research for the studio section of street and studio I looked at photographer, Peter Defty as not only did I really like his portraits I also liked that there was a range of lighting scenarios and poses for me to get inspiration from. These three images are from his 'faces #2' due to being the most similar subjects to my project.
The first image I liked is a colour image of a man, its is a straight on half body shot of this person using only a single flash/light. The flash is positioned above the persons head almost straight but ever so slightly to the right of the persons head, the camera is eye level with the man. I like this image because although only a single light was used you don't lose too much detail in the shadows on this face. I want to use this technique in my project as I like how dramatic and cinematic the images feel, it also enhances the texture visible in this persons face which which I really like however I do not think the people I will be photographing for this project will have the same effect.
The next image I'm looking at is another half body, colour image of a man, taken at eye level for a natural look. Again this image only used a single light/flash however the look from the previous image is completely different. The light is a lot softer and coming in from a lot more of an angle which you can tell due to more of the side of his head being in shadow. I believe this is an example of Rembrandt lighting because of the way the right eye is catching the light. Defty has gotten this person to stand with his body facing the light and his head turned into the lens away from the light, this ensures that the body and face are lit whilst still achieving nice dramatic shadows. Id like to try this technique in my project as I feel this lighting technique creates punchy, dramatic images.
The next image I looked at I found interesting due to again being a very similar composition and lighting setup however the look is drastically different. This image is black and white which I will not be using for my project as I will be looking at clothes and personality which is often a lot more colourful in skateboarding. What I liked about this image was how dramatic the lighting was, still using one light Defty has positioned it slightly further away and has done this to get less light in the image and make the bottom half of this person completely dark.
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